About Joe

Mr. Ciras is the sole proprietor of Joseph R. Ciras Project Assistance Services, a company that he starting in 2006 and that specializes in the inspection and troubleshooting of auxiliary equipment for the power industry.

Mr. Ciras has almost thirty years of experience as a mechanical engineer and design/draftsman working in a variety of industries. His first engineering job was for OD Hopkins in Contoocook, NH designing amusement rides. Since 1997 he has been working as a Mechanical Engineer in the metal fabrication and power industries. He has worked at C&W Fabricators in Leominster MA as a Project Manager and Team Leader for Diffusers and Technology and at KE Burgmann, USA in Hebron KY as the United States Program Manager for high tech fabric expansion joints. Prior to 1997, he has done R&D work in the plastics industry, has taught at ITT Technical Institute in Framingham, MA, and has worked as a draftsman at the former Heald Machine Company in Worcester. Most recently he was a Project Engineer and the Health and Safety Coordinator at Ranor, Inc. in Westminster MA. Ranor, Inc specializes in large-scale precision metal fabricating and machining.

Mr. Ciras holds a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering Degree from Worcester Polytechnic Institute(2011), a Bachelor of Science Degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Lowell(1990), a Diploma in Machine and Tool Design Technology from Worcester Industrial Technical Institute (1985), and an Associate in Art in Applied Technology degree from Central New England College (1985). Mr. Ciras has received a Project Management Certificate from Worcester Polytechnic Institute(WPI) in 2003. Mr. Ciras has received a Safety and Health Specialist Certificate in General Industry from the OSHA Training Institute Education Center at Keene State College (2010) and is LEAN and Six Sigma certified.

Mr. Ciras has passed the Engineer-in-Training examination and has been a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) since 1989. Mr. Ciras is an ASME eMentor, a member of the ASME Power Division Plant Operations & Maintenance Committee, the ASME Applied Mechanics Division Uncertainty, Probabilistics and Reliability Technical Committee, and recently joined the ASME Power Division Student Paper Committee.